We drove up a winding mountain road next to the hypnotic white noise emerging from the river, with the smell of conifers permeating our lungs from canyon walls that seemed to be covered in a thick shag carpet of trees towering above us. We were driving to one of the most beloved spaces in Northern Colorado – the Mishawaka Amphitheater.

Cheerfully referred to as “The Mish”, this small space on the side of Poudre Canyon Highway in Bellvue is one of the best, if not thee best live concert venue in Northern Colorado. It all started back in 1916 when Walter S. Thompson built the dance hall by hand next to the bubbling white caps of the Poudre River. Things have changed over the many years, some good and some bad. The most recent evolution for The Mish was in December of 2010 when Dani Grant and her husband Matt Hoeven, owners of Chipper’s Lanes and directors of local music non-profit, SpokesBUZZ, took over to breath in new life and set the establishment on the straight and narrow.

Upon hearing that news in 2010, I was relieved that this venue would continue to entertain and feed bikers, hikers, and music lovers alike for years to come. One of the most memorable concerts of my life was at The Mish, and I’ve been to thousands of them all over the west coast. Absolutely nothing compares to the magical mountain moments that fill your head with the sounds of a thumping bass and a roaring river.

But, Mishawaka isn’t only a concert venue, it’s also a year-round bar and restaurant. So, this particular visit for us wasn’t about the music, it was about the food.

We sat out on the deck right next to the river, kicking our feet up while gazing at the eagles soaring above us in the sky and keeping an eye out for wildlife on the mountain slope on the other side of the river. I was really hoping to spot a bear, because there had been quite a few visits from them throughout the year. But, no such luck.

We wanted to start of with an appetizer of spinach artichoke dip, but our server came back to the table to inform us that they were out of it for the evening. So, we opted to go with their hot wings.

To make up for the lack of dip, the kitchen loaded us up with extra wings, which was really nice. The portion size of the drums and flats alone were hefty, and then to have a boat load of extra pieces? It was enough for a meal of its own.

The wings were cooked perfectly with a crispy skin and soft, juicy meat underneath. They were swimming in a bright orange spicy, tangy buffalo sauce that I wasn’t particularly fond of, but The Husband loved it. It had just enough heat to scorn my taste buds, but not enough to destroy my sense of taste.

Wiping away the clown-like sauce smiles from the corner of our lips, we moved on to our entrees. The Husband ordered the 1/2 pound grilled buffalo burger and added cheddar cheese and bacon to it for an extra cost.

It was a bit over-cooked making it a dry patty with little flavor. The Husband wasn’t entirely disappointed with it, and thought that discovering an average burger was better than eating a horrible one.

I ordered the Mish Burrito – rice and black bean burrito smothered in vegetarian green chile sauce, and topped with cheddar and jack cheese. Sprinkled on top were chopped tomato, onion, black olives, jalapeno salsa, and sour cream. I added chicken for an extra cost.

This burrito was the size of a small mountain animal. I swear, if you had been hiking or rafting all day long, coming to The Mish to eat this burrito of epic portions would make your stomach smile. If you aren’t in the competitive eating business, then you’d have enough left over for two meals. Our server told me that not too long ago an eight-year old boy wolfed the whole thing down. There was no way I’d be able to compete with that.

Despite the astronomical size, it was just okay. Unfortunately, the rice was undercooked and still even crunchy raw in some bites. But, beyond that, the green chile was mild and tasty, the vegetables were crisp, and there was enough cheese to make strings from fork-to-mouth in each bite.

I also ordered some onion rings to share with The Husband. They came out a little on the burnt side of done. If they hadn’t been so brown with the dark taste of carbon attached to it, they would have been fabulous. Thick, and without the onion sliding out of the breading after first bite.

Mishawaka Amphitheater has one of the most incredible atmospheres to enjoy, especially for a dining experience. Hands down, they have the best patio deck for miles and miles. Our dinner didn’t add anything special to the moment as we took in the fresh mountain air and marveled at the changing autumn leaves in Poudre Canyon. The Mish is on the right track with changes for the music venue, but they still have a lot of work to do on the food.

I went there last summer with my grandma, mom and couple of friends. We had the worst service ever, I think she was mad that only 2 out of 5 ordered food, the rest drinks. When we didn’t get our burger split, like we asked she told us “there is a knife on the table”. It made it look like she was super busy and didn’t have time for us, when we were one out of 3 tables there. waitress even “tossed” our bill at us as she was walking by.
I’d go there for a show but never to eat.

Kristin Mastre

To be fair, if that was last summer, it was under the old ownership of Robin Jones who was arrested for growing massive amounts of weed at The Mish. I’ve read MANY horrible service reviews during his 20 year ownership time, and most of them more horrific towards the end before Dani Grant bought the property from him.

I’d give it another chance, just based on that.

D

I was there a few weeks ago for breakfast and it was rather bland and pricey for what it was. I have been eating there a few times before ownership changed and it was always good for bar food and I have to say it was a lot better than this summer. I love to go there with my family for breakfast or lunch and hope they will work on the food. We usually go every year for Mothers Day to eat breakfast, but I won’t until the food get’s better.

Wish I could say I had a good meal at The Mish, particularly since I had heard that there have been such favorable changes since Dani Grant took over. But I was not at all impressed with the place. Dinner was so, so. The menu was odd in that you have to pay an extra $1.00 for an onion slice and lettuce and tomato is not even included in what is already an overpriced Burger. French Fries or Onion Rings are an extra $2.00.

For the price of your Burger, lettuce, tomato,onion,and Fries should be included. Kind of standard in most good restaurants. Serving one of our local Craft Brews in a plastic

“glass” seems weird and does take away from the quality of the Brew. I wonder what our local Brewers would have to say if they knew their beers were in plastic?? And the bathroom was absolutely filthy. Can’t anyone take a few minuets and scrub the caked on grime in the sinks. It just seems that, with all the good things I have read about Dani Grant and the upgrades to the Mish, when you are there it doesn’t seem to match that
quality or what you envisioned. It is like the restaurant is secondary to the music venue. You folks could do so much better!